BIMA is now open daily 10am-5pm.

A time to reflect

As the museum reopens more fully this spring, and we again sense the pleasure of being a gathering place with art as the centering experience, we are also called to reflect.

We continue to be profoundly grateful for the generosity of our extended community. Through gifts of time, talent and resources, efforts large and small, deep commitment and hard work, and a thousand strokes of luck, BIMA has been able to reopen when many other arts organizations remain shuttered. We are grateful to be here, conscious of our good fortune, and are working to help other organizations back to their feet—reminded every day that we can pay forward this gratitude by fostering connection, healing, challenge, and inspiration through art.

This moment is also one of profound change, marked by unfathomable and continued examples of racial and social injustice, inequity, and violence across the US. BIMA’s response to this inflection point begins with self-inquiry and a commitment to make visible the values that we hold close. With that, we’re working to do and be better, to cultivate and support safe spaces, and to ensure that all voices are heard, valued, and welcomed.

As we lean into this learning, we turn first to the artists who can lead the way for us all. As a museum, we are both privileged and responsible to be the best spotlight, platform, and petri dish that we can, particularly for contemporary artists of the Puget Sound region. In BIMA’s front Beacon window right now hangs “Song for Generations” a particularly relevant piece of work by artist Michelle Kumata, a comment on the legacy of harm related to the Japanese American incarceration. This work captures the complexities of a shameful and wrenching historical trauma within this community and the country while serving as a poignant reminder that racially motivated violence still exists. At BIMA, we are proud to champion and support voices like hers, voices that help keep these issues present in our minds and hearts as a foundation to mitigating harm.

Thank you for joining us at the museum, for immersing yourself in the pleasures and perspectives of the artists we showcase, for sharing the values we hold, for lending a hand as we put our cultural community back together, and for working together to lean into the work that we have in front of us.

Artist Marita Dingus talks with BIMA members in front of her work at a Member Party.

About the Museum

Mission

BIMA inspires curiosity, wonder and understanding by connecting people with the contemporary art and craft of the Puget Sound region.

About

Located a stone’s throw away from the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal, BIMA is the gateway to Bainbridge Island and beyond. Home to a growing Permanent Art Collection with a focus on artists and collections from the Puget Sound region, BIMA is thrilled to welcome visitors from around the world to view its galleries.

Since opening its LEED Gold certified building in 2013, BIMA has become the cultural living room for the local community. The Museum’s galleries, auditorium, Bistro, Store and plaza buzz with a variety of events covering the entire artistic spectrum.

BIMA’s exhibitions feature recognized masters and emerging artists that are sure to leave you inspired by their striking work and thought-provoking themes. With major exhibitions changing three times per year (that’s 15-20 new shows to experience annually!), as well as classes, tours, films, workshops, lectures, concerts and events, there is always something new and exciting to experience at BIMA.

BIMA actively delivers its artistic vision through a variety of educational programs. The Museum’s Arts Growth Initiative focuses on advancing its multi-pronged educational program, including field trips for students throughout the region during the school day, hands-on art projects to children of all ages, after-school art clubs, summer camps, workshops for adult learners, and programs for people going through Early Stage Memory Loss.

BIMA believes art is for everyone and is committed to provide free general admission to the museum every day. This is made possible thanks to gracious and generous donors and BIMA members like you.

Vision

Fueled by creativity and collaboration, BIMA commits to building a world where art is essential to thriving communities.

A student group enjoys a free docent-led field trip during BIMA's show commemorating the 75th anniversary of the forced removal of Japanese-Americans on Bainbridge Island.

Values

Growth, Learning & Discovery: We create visitor experiences that provide insight, knowledge and a shared understanding of ourselves as individuals and as a community.

Accountability & Stewardship: We value integrity, ethical responsibility and sustainable practices for our people, our collection, our building and our environment.

Transformation Artistic Expression & Joy: We celebrate the empowerment, generosity, wisdom, illumination, excitement and optimism that art has the power to give.

Broad & Diverse Community Engagement: We collaborate with organizations and audiences to create cultural programs that reflect the diversity of our region and respect who is telling the story and whose story is being told.

Community Centered: We put community first and honor the resourcefulness, support and courageous generosity of our community, members, donors and guests.

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that the land on which we gather is within the aboriginal territory of the suqʼʷábš “People of Clear Salt Water” (Suquamish People). Expert fishers, canoe builders, and basket weavers, the suqʼʷábš live in harmony with the lands and waterways along Washington’s Central Salish Sea as they have for thousands of years. Here the suqʼʷábš live and protect the land and waters of their ancestors for future generations as promised by the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855.

We pay respects to their elders past and present.

History

Bainbridge Island Museum of Art began its long road to realization in 2009 with a spark of an idea to create a cultural and artistic bright spot to showcase the region’s outstanding arts and culture. The museum was designed to be an active resource for the community, and the founders were committed to creating a warm and welcoming cultural and educational organization that would be free to all, with no admission required.

Led by a founding board of directors from throughout the region, the early years at BIMA were spent designing and building a museum that embodied that spirit of vitality, openness, accessibility, and passion that deeply informed the founding vision. In June 2013, BIMA opened the doors to its Matthew Coates-designed building to the public with the Museum’s inaugural show First Light.

BIMA has quickly established itself as part of the vibrant cultural landscape of Washington State and beyond. The Museum’s mission to inspire curiosity, wonder and understanding by connecting people with the contemporary art and craft of the Puget Sound region has been brought to life with an emphasis on diverse and lesser-known artists, and Northwest strongholds like glass, printmaking, and sculpture.

Looking toward the future, BIMA continues to grow as an organization and expand artistic and educational programming, providing new ways for the community to engage with and learn from the breathtaking and thought-provoking art and craft of the Puget Sound Region.